


Old Friends

by littlebirdtoldme



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-29
Updated: 2014-07-29
Packaged: 2018-02-10 21:57:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2041668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlebirdtoldme/pseuds/littlebirdtoldme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marco meets up with the friends he fought beside in the war, and the gathering is for quite a special occasion. Post-war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Friends

Marco went back sometimes. Of course he did. They all did, although admittedly some more than others. Cassie spent most of her time travelling between Yellowstone and Washington nowadays, Ax was off enjoying the command he held as a prince, Jake was... Well, Jake was Jake, as silent and self-isolating as he had been since the end of the war. As for Tobias, no one really knew what was going on with him – after all, he never made an effort to contact any of them. Marco and Cassie both saw a red-tailed hawk whenever they visited the grave but they were all aware that whenever Jake went, the hawk was nowhere to be seen.

Laying in his oversized, money-waster of a bed, Marco sighed. Not that he would ever admit it, but Marco had been dreading this day for weeks. As if that could help him avoid it.

There was no putting it off any longer. He threw off the sheets and rolled out of bed, rubbing the sleep from his heavy eyes. He walked over to his window, pushed it wide open, and stared out at the view. Of course, it wasa stunning one – after all, he could afford any view he fancied with the money he had – but his mind was elsewhere. Memories of the war flooded his mind, memories he usually blocked and pushed away, awakening them only when it was necessary and then doing what he did best: covering the pain they brought him with layer upon layer of humour and sarcasm and wit. It was what he did. It was what he was known for.

Marco turned away from the window and closed his eyes. He couldn’t delay any more, else he would be late. He had been planning to drive, but a different mode of transport seemed more appropriate for this. Pulling on the clothing he used for morphing, he thought (with some bitterness) of how long it had been since his last morph. Despite what he said to the media, morphing didn’t hold the same joy and freedom that it once did.

He focussed on the image of a seagull. Not his most glamorous of morphs, but one that served well for long distance travels. He felt his arms shrinking into his body, growing wider and flatter into a wing shape. His nose and lips hardened and pushed out, forming his beak, and a gradual colour shift became apparent. All over his skin, a detail design appeared as if inked onto his skin, before it rose and transformed and softened into his feathers. Marco kept his eyes closed. Watching oneself morph was never a pleasant thing, especially when it had been so long.

When his morph was complete, he opened his beady eyes and looked around the room. Towards the open window. He was just about to take off and fly out when –

_Food!_

A delicious smell coming from somewhere nearby. Waffles! He turned, waddling towards the door, focussed on reaching the source of the aroma...

_Oh get a_ grip, _Marco,_ he said to himself, shaking his head to clear his mind. The seagull’s instincts fell back, allowing the human mind to take over. Flapping his wings experimentally, the room spun as he banked towards the window and soaring through the gap. He took to the air with ease: it was as if he had never gone.

His journey was not a short one. He had to stop to demorph and remorph – no way was he getting stuck in _this_ body. Life as a bird may be fine for Tobias, but Marco found that birds couldn’t drive. Or go on TV. Or on dates with hot girls. Well, not easily, anyway.

Eventually, however, Marco reached his goal. Yellowstone. He dipped his wings and glided downwards, eyes searching for any hint of exactly where he needed to be –

An osprey was riding thermals in the same air space as him, closely accompanied by a red-tailed hawk. Who else could it be?

<Cassie? Tobias?> he called out in thought speak to the pair. <I sure hope you guys know where this is going on, because I sure don’t.>

<Marco!> Cassie’s thought speak sounded pleasantly surprised. <It’s good to see you... I mean... I didn’t know if you were gonna come or...>

<You think I would miss out on this? Seriously?> Marco sighed. <Okay, it was a close call. But I decided in the end something this big would not be the same without my presence. I’m just doing you all a favour, really.>

Cassie didn’t respond. Tobias remained silent. Marco had half expected that. He was slipping so easily back into his old role. But that wasn’t why they were here.

<There they are,> Cassie called to the boys. <I see them. Follow me.>

She soared down, heading for a small clearing. Marco followed her down, down, past the treetops and into the clearing, closely followed by Tobias. Marco and Cassie demorphed – although Cassie was, of course, far more elegant in the process. He wondered whether she used her morphing abilities much these days. She probably did. Either way, she hadn’t lost her touch as an Estreen.

Marco looked around. Everyone was here – everyone. The Hork-Bajir gathered in a group to one side, Toby at the fore, looking far more at peace than they ever had back in the valley. That was good. The Hork-Bajir had given a lot for earth: at least they were getting something back in return.

Looking around, Marco grinned. “Ax-man!” He said happily. “Long time no see.” He laid a hand on the Andalite’s furry blue shoulder and quietly added “It’s good to see you, man. I’m happy you could make it.”

Ax inclined his head. <I was not going to miss this occasion,> he replied, sadness tinting his tone. <Admittedly, as a prince, it was far easier to make arrangements for this than it would be if I were still just an _aristh_. >

“Ax-man, you were never ‘just an aristh’. You were – are – one of us, like it or not! What would we have done without you? Who else would show us the true delight of cinnamon buns?” Marco’s humour fell flat. It wasn’t a time for jokes, and he knew it.

Ax smiled a little. <Very true, Marco. Apologies – I see Tobias. I have not seen my _shorm_ in far too long. > He walked towards the hawk with a graceful movement, his tail held high behind him. Marco shook his head. The rank had changed Ax. But then, the war had changed them all.

“Quite a gathering here, huh?”

A voice behind him made him start, and he whirled round to face –

“Jake!”

Marco gave a yell of happiness and pulled his old friend into a tight hug. Jake responded less enthusiastically, wrapping his arms awkwardly around Marco.

“Hey, man,” he said, a small smile playing on his lips. “Guess I’m last to the party, huh?”

“You kidding? Like that matters,” Marco grinned. “Ah, you made it. I was wondering if you would, y’know...”

“Yeah, well, for something like this, we gotta set old things aside for a while, right?” Jake’s voice was quiet, and his eyes were downcast. Marco glanced to the side and saw Tobias, now in human form, standing with Cassie and Ax. His stomach twisted at the memory of what drove Jake and Tobias apart, of how Cassie and Jake fell apart right in front of them all...

“C’mon. It’s time we got started.”

Wordlessly, they moved to join the group. Tobias shot Jake a look, but after a nudge from Cassie, nodded tentatively. Jake inclined his own head slowly. Marco breathed a sigh of relief: today of all days, they had to avoid conflict.

After all, today was Rachel’s birthday.

There was a silence for a moment, and then finally, it was Toby who broke the silence.

"Shall we begin?"

Cassie nodded wordlessly, and the group of Animorphs joined the Hork-Bajir. The companions spread out, into a circle. Standing to Jake's left, Marco noticed that Cassie stood on Jake's other side. Maybe things weren't as irreparable as they had thought : perhaps they could still go back to how they used to be.

Ax was on his own left, tail high in respect. Tobias stood beside him, looking uncomfortable. Marco imagined it had been some time since he used his human morph: his old friend's movements were sharp and jerky, and he looked around as though looking constantly for danger. Next to Tobias was Toby. She looked in her element: the influential Hork-Bajir seer, first to be born into freedom, named for the _nothlit_ who had provided that liberty. Beside Toby, the other Hork-Bajir joined, circling round until the last one, a young child, stood by Cassie’s right side.

Marco’s eyes widened as he saw Cassie reach out silently, and take hold of Jake’s hand. He opened his mouth to make a joking remark – but even he knew that this was neither the time nor the place.

As he looked on, studying Cassie and Jake’s expression, he felt Ax take his own hand. Marco took Jake’s free hand. Ax and Tobias joined, and Tobias with Toby, and Cassie with the Hork-Bajir child until the entire circle was linked in one, unbroken chain.

Marco’s chest was tight as he looked around the circle, seeing all these individuals who had, in one way or another, been so affected by the war. Opposite him, one of the older Hork-Bajir began quietly stamping one foot in a beat. The other Hork-Bajir slowly joined in, until the clearing was echoing with the sound of clawed feet pounding simultaneously onto the ground, and a soft, low chanting whispered its way around the group. The unintelligible language of the Hork-Bajir made Marco shiver. He didn’t understand the words, but he knew this was not a moment to be broken with words. He closed his eyes and remembered all they had lost. Rachel. Jara Hamee. James, Collette, and the other Auxiliary Animorphs... Just kids they had recruited, kids who had died for them...

As if on a cue, the Hork-Bajir fell silent. Marco felt Ax’s and Jake’s hands fall away from his, and he opened his eyes to see the circle breaking at every point. A hush still rested over the group, until Toby turned and walked into the words, accompanied by the still wordless Hork-Bajir. Marco turned to Ax and whispered, “Ax-man... What _was_ all that? I mean... It was... It was something, but I don’t know what that something was...”

Ax turned to Marco, and smiled that strange, mouthless, Andalite smile.

<It is a custom. A tradition of the Hork-Bajir, that they wished to share with us. It is their ritual to honour those fallen in battle.> Ax turned all four of his eyes onto Marco. <It has never been used for creatures other than the Hork-Bajir. Not until today.>

And for the first time in a very, very long time, Marco wept.


End file.
